Is the soul eternal

[theVOID]

I don't know about that, it would depend on whether or not there were an infinite number of experiences to be had, and infinite number of people to meet and and infinite amount knowledge to be learned, and infinite amount of movies to watch, an infinite number of songs to experience and so on - If you struck the right balance It could possibly be infinitely fulfilling.

That being said if it were all on someone else's terms it could be very much the opposite experience, i think you would need total freedom to pursue what you wanted when you wanted it.

[krazedkat]

I don't know about that, it would depend on whether or not there were an infinite number of experiences to be had, and infinite number of people to meet and and infinite amount knowledge to be learned, and infinite amount of movies to watch, an infinite number of songs to experience and so on - If you struck the right balance It could possibly be infinitely fulfilling.

That being said if it were all on someone else's terms it could be very much the opposite experience, i think you would need total freedom to pursue what you wanted when you wanted it.

Imagine how bad an afterlife like that would be for the suicidal .

[Rhizomorph13]

But, I like experiencing sensations. I know I won't miss it when I am gone but the idea that living forever would be torture is just so much emo horseshit in my opinion. Void's take is a good one, because as long as time continued and there was a planet for new souls to be formed then zoop over to the afterlife after passing through some afterlife litmus test, there would always be newness to experience not to mention a whole lot of old experiences to return to when bored.

Suicidal people are usually that way because they lack the creativity to see a constructive path forward, either because their goal seems unreachable or they lack the tools necessary to establish goals to motivate themselves. If there was an abundance of resources in the afterlife it would negate barriers to goals and there would be enough time to develop the tools for appropriate goal seeking behavior.

Rhizo

[leo-rcc]

To continue here from the other thread. I think your poll is a false trichotomy. It surely needs a fourth option "What is a soul?"

[Watson]

Your soul is the part of yourself which is good, just, and in line with God. It knows better than you do, for it is in tune with God's will, and it can either be listened to or ignored. It holds your personality and your destiny within it. Whatever lessons you learn in life, it retains, and it is eternal. If you follow a path that is against God, you follow a path that is against your own soul. Heaven is the position or state of mind brought about by following your soul's path, both before and after death. Hell is the position of being stripped of all of your soul's understanding, knowledge, and direction, again, both before and after death. The person you are now, the human being you have grown up to be, either follows the soul to Heaven or locks itself away into Hell. The lessons you learned are then passed on through your soul into a new being, one whom will hopefully follow the direction your soul should have.

A slightly edited excerpt of a post I have yet to make in a different topic, but that I feel accurately and simply defines what I understand as a soul.

[leo-rcc]

Can you come to a baseline where all religions that incorporate souls could work with? If the definition of soul means that I have to go with the Christian god then it becomes just a lesson in futility. You are then defining one thing with the use of something else that needs defining.

[tackattack]

I don't think it's a false anything leo. If you can read the word "soul" and have read it before you should be able to define it. And I'm ok with people using whatever definition they have or would like to use. To answer your question of "what is a soul?" (in relation to you specifically answering the poll) the answer would be whatever your subjective opinion of the part of self, seperate from mind and it's functions, that is argued to have an ability to transcend death.

[theVOID]

Why don't you look up "substance dualism" and tell us if that is what you mean.

[krazedkat]

I don't think it's a false anything leo. If you can read the word "soul" and have read it before you should be able to define it. And I'm ok with people using whatever definition they have or would like to use. To answer your question of "what is a soul?" (in relation to you specifically answering the poll) the answer would be whatever your subjective opinion of the part of self, seperate from mind and it's functions, that is argued to have an ability to transcend death.

What do YOU think a "soul" is, that's what this is all about.

[tackattack]

@Void. well sort of. This is my understanding. The brain is physical. The mind is the process of the brain. The mind is abstract and intangible like in substance dualism, but ust a function off of the material physical prain and it's firing neurons. The soul (seperate thing from mind and brain) would be an intangible input to the mind that anchors the identity of self and could possibly survive death.

@krazedkat, I know what I think, a poll is finding out what others think